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You have made so many of my moments on the server pure joy. All I can say, is thank you.

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If you're looking for the obituary of Eris Hale, you've come to the wrong place.


Firstly, the thank yous. Thank you everyone, really. It was a whole year of my life - a pretty important one, too. I didn't always have the time to put in, but in the end Eris Hale was a 750+ hour experiment in my life. That's a lot of time for one year. A special thank you for those players I interacted more closely with - some across multiple characters. You know who you are, and I won't name names, for fear of forgetting someone.

There are a lot of screenshots, and I might update it if/when I find some more. I am notoriously bad at NWN record-keeping, I plan to enable and use logs more in the future, they always were the most fun thing to read, years later. Oh, and sorry for the quality, I play on an old MacBook, it's a pretty good computer but not really made for gaming I guess.



[hide=A LONG backstory]Eris Hale (born Erica Allomein) lived an unremarkable first 29 years of life. She was born in the Tenements of Tickertown. As a young woman, she was a wastrel without much direction. She tried her hand at Ringrunning earlier in life, but didn't have the guts for it. She tried many things, with little success. She found a man, married him, had two children (not in that order!) but it didn't last. She floundered in life, barely able to help support these kids, until she began a lucrative scheme involving alchemy and certain restricted ingredients. Selling the narcotic products of her efforts made her a pretty bit of groat. She began denying her cautious (cowardly, really!) nature, and taking more and more risks - eventually even dipping into her own supply, a fatal mistake.

It was an accident. The night Erica Allomein burned down an entire alleyway in Old Ticker was still remembered by many, even up to the destruction of Ticker Square at the hands of the wyrm Tchamorrar. But, because of what happened after, she was known by all those in her former life to be dead.

They found her with her fingers and palms charred to bits. She struggled to lift the rubble, fruitlessly. Some of it still smoldering. She had been working on the very edge of things - as few reagents as possible, a little of her own meager bloodmagic (just enough talent to finish!). But, maybe, in her heart of hearts, she always knew it had been her fault. Nonetheless, they found her trying to sift through the rubble - it wasn't even her house. Most of the alley was unrecognizable, the fire had burnt too hot, melting the City back into itself.

The angry neighbors - those who had survived - brought her before two men, who were known around those streets. Local muscle, for the local gang, in that ever-shifting quicksand that is gang life in the City of Rings...

But these two, none knew, were different. Envoys of a woman who had, in a short time, already become known as a legend. Mother, they called her - those who knew of her, that is. She occupied an entire block of tenements, her squalid followers pitching tents inside - hot soup, new clothes, even a bath. Another charity, like Glumdrum Hall, or the Nephezar almshouse? No, this was something different. The people inside, and those close to the Mother had changed - they spoke of having their lives renovated, of having been born anew in Truth and the light of her gaze. Those closest to her wore masks - when they did. None knew their names, none had ever seen a meaningful face. Access to the Mother herself was jealously guarded.

But it was before these people that Erica was brought. They took her - into the Drips. There, they said, they would find the truth. They tortured her. They had her tell the story again. A hundred times. A thousand. By the end, she knew the truth. She was falsely accused. Any who knew the story - and there were so few left - knew it to be a lie. But, it was now the truth.

But she was distraught. It had cost her two children - so they locked her inside a drainage pipe. Barely thick enough for her to sit down in. An oubliette - it may as well have been a coffin. In went Erica, out came Eris. Eris Hale. Her daughter's name had been Élah. Now, twisted by the cultists, it was /her/ name.

They took her to the Mother's House. She did not get to meet the Mother then, but they played the Game with her. She became quite good at it. The Imitation Game takes many forms, some are known only to those closest to Her - others are being developed, even as we speak. The simplest form is a children's game - you imitate a master. You imitate their stance, their mannerisms, their voice. It might have seemed silly to Erica, but it consumed Eris. She learned the Game well - all that she could. She learned that the Game pleased her Mother, more than anything in the entire world. She was taught that the Peerage Houses, in their delusions of grandeur, were also players of the Game. Some played very well - none better than House Sunpurse, perhaps.

So, she set out. With a half-cocked plan in her head, and a few well-learned skills. The Mother favored her, she could call on her at will - she had not lost her looks, nor her presence. Her body, however, became more frail each day. She inhaled the fumes, the day of the accident. Two weeks inside a rusted, dank pipe did not do her lungs any favors. Still, she could play the Game so well. She would do nicely.

[/hide]

Let's get to the good stuff!


[hide=Character Sheet] 

I tried to roleplay this character sheet to my fullest. Eris was very interesting mechanically, despite being a total pushover in a lot of respects. She did very well questing, however, and I believe only died once to PvE. Having that Cleric HD really saved her in a lot of situations - the expectations are put on sorcerers and wizards to do what she did in combat - use summons, buff others, heal. She tried to do this as best as she could, and she was okay at it, definitely. PVP wise she did have a trick or two - in the end she could be a serious menace, if left unchecked. But she was also profoundly cautious (her absurd wisdom score) - to the point of open cowardice. She had no true pride, and could adapt to most any situation, even under serious scrutiny or subdued, she was a master apologist - I tried to have it reflect her very high CHA score, also. Here I posted the buffed stats, because she never left home without those buffs (yes, that includes INT, which she had a good score of, also).

Unbuffed spread: 9 / 10 / 9(-1) / 14 / 18(+1) / 16(+1)
Bluff score (end of her career): 19

This is probably what I'm proudest of, about the character. She played like a sorceress (and in fact pretended actively to be one for quite some time) and a lot of people bought into that. It's a very interesting spin on the Cleric, and it worked marvelously, and meshed perfectly (in my view) with the strange faith she followed.[/hide]


[hide=Chasing off the Rabble (ft. doggos)]

Early days, still in the House's favor during the height of the Last Tournament (The Tournament of the Storm). She managed to score a couple of points for her House through very underhanded means, and this was the result of one of those times.[/hide]


I'M GONNA POST A BUNCH OUT OF CONTEXT - I might come back to this post and do context for each! It's going to take way longer than I thought, to do this! I wanna play! T___T

[hide=OUT OF CONTEXT]

CATSBYISM

TRASHY!
Eris carried this, and her first shawl (a dispensary prize) as mementos of Eleleth. Her bronze ear was Madrick Marjolo's - very Madrick to give her something so fungible as a 'memento'.
Madrick OWNS Eris (Eris was very good at PVP - just not combat-based PVP. A lot of PVP is conflict and drama, it happens on the [Talk] channel. This is an example of me getting OWNED in such PVP.
Best summon ever
Gnomes loved Eris
LOL TRASHY!


[/hide]

I sadly have very few screenshots of some characters who were so important in her journey - Eleleth, the Haremarches, Gawen of Glitt, Kastian the Slayer, Cawdor/Fowler, so many of her Retainer friends and allies.... And her girl posse, Cordelia, Aurelia and Rosalia.... Malik the Inquisitor and Aatish the Firebrand! Maeve and Katarina.... : ( I'm very bad at taking screenshots! But here are the ones I have!

I need to hop IG and take some pictures of the loot, as well. I'll update it soon, I promise!

[hide=The Endlude]   Erica got to live the life she saw in the mirror, after all. She had pleased her Mother, and been treated well for it. However, somewhere, a clicking sound... A splinter in the mind. Eris would always live within her - her paradise was false, and she'd always know it. But she wanted to believe, and believing was so easy...[/hide]



I need to sort through a bunch of .tga's, redact some spoilers. I'll be updating the thread some time this week. I didn't play her for 12 months straight, but 750+ hours is a LOT of screens. Even for me.

I think this was covered before, but here's my take, to add to the discussion:

"Political action" is broadly defined. Since DnD and EfU work on the character-level system, I'd say what counts as 'political action' for a level 5 newbie character is markedly different from 'political action' for a level 10 long-established character. A level 5 character might get drunk and mouth off. They might whisper in fear, only to silence at the chastisement or advice of other, more established characters. It's ok to be afraid, and it's ok to back down at those lower levels. You took a risk, commensurate with your character's abilities. If no one tells you to back down, or to stop, or opposes you - run with it. Run with it until you meet that wall.

In the same vein, the responses should vary, both as the levels of your opponents vary, and your own. I currently play a PC that, as an 'authority' on the Count's side of things, would likely take immediate issue with even a level 5 newcomer badmouthing the Count or singing the King's praises. But I think it's the responsibility of established characters to act along the lines of proportionality. If a long-established, level 9 character reveals themselves to have been anti-Count all along, and I find out they're actively plotting the Count's demise, and have already organized a network of supporters and collaborators, you better believe my response (which I consider proportional to the example I've given here) will be all-out conflict, with the possibility - even the likelihood - of FD outcome if I or my allies win engagements. However, replying in the same fashion (even if I, OOC, know full well that if 'allowed to flourish' a level 5 character might reach that same degree of prominence and become just as dangerous an opponent as the established level 9 I used as an example) is a bad look. Now, I understand that saying, "Trust your fellow players to play your characters' opponents tastefully" isn't always the most reassuring, but in my experience, most if not all long-term players on EfU are trying to do the right thing. Just as emotions run high for me when PvP conflict arises, tempers flare behind the other player's screen too. For me, the key is to understand that your adversaries and bitter enemies of today can become your key allies and collaborators tomorrow (some times on different PCs, some times even on the SAME PC - that's just EfU). So, I try to look past the losing outcomes for myself, to see EfU as this community, with all its flaws, where the point is to have fun.

Now, that sentiment is easier said than done, surely. But, to strive for it, I think, is the best way to approach and enjoy this game. Otherwise (in my experience) victory comes with a bitter taste, and defeat is always a cause for rage-quitting. And once you shut down the game, you're the one enraged. Life goes on in the server, for better or worse.



As a final thought: The server seems to me, currently, to be very fertile to 'anti-establishment' characters. While the main hub of the Ward is definitely a place to avoid if you're going to be speaking out against the most prominent current NPC, there seems to be lots of life in other areas, too.

In my view (I'm not a DM, disclaimer!) it's always fine for an anti-Peerage or anti-Count character to come to the Peerage every so often - to buy supplies, hear the gossip, even develop relationships or 'case' enemies. I draw the line at anti-Peerage characters actively seeking to party and quest with Retainers and staunchly pro-Peerage types (just as I would draw the line at seeing these Retainer characters accept an anti-Peerage person in their questing party). The obvious exception would be characters ACTIVELY being deceitful, which is also a possible avenue!

The TL;DR is this: Very few characters are Kill on Sight. In my view, low-level characters should never be KoS to higher-level, more established ones. The consequences of your actions should always be proportional to the actions themselves, which in turn should be proportional to your character's power level (both mechanically and socially).

I'm big on anything that advances syncretism IG. Despite all the amazing fun times I had with the Grand Vestry / Nephezar stint under the Banner, I've always felt like the way religion and Clerics are set up in CoR allows for exactly this sort of thing, less of "how do I convert everyone to my dogma" and more of "how do I encompass what other are doing into the umbrella of my dogma".

Obviously, we always need to be mindful  of the power of Clerics and the importance of religion in general to the setting - what  I mean by this is that I don't feel syncretism should be used as a blanket excuse to quest your heart out with just about everyone, or to go *glares* and leave the conflict at that. Behind syncretism there should always be overarching philosophies that delineate a character's "hard no's". In your idea, I think hard no's would be, for example, Count loyalists - how would someone involved in a Kingly cult justify working alongside people loyal to someone who wants to openly overthrow the King?

That being said, it's a pretty cool idea, hope you get the ball rolling IG somehow!

Amazing. Sad to see her go while I'm sidelined.

Amazing. No words.

Amazing. The sermons were amazing. The parley was amazing. The attack and its aftermath were amazing - real feeling of self-sacrificial zealotry. It was one of the bravest things I've ever seen on EfU.

This is pretty awesome, and will greatly improve the arena as a 'PVP training area' - for me, at least, the real trouble with PVP is less in knowing how to use / having consumables and more about how, when the stakes are real perma-death, I get super nervous and jittery.

Training is your friend, in these kinds of situations - this is a wonderful change that, if implemented, would help level the playing field a lot!

Class

*ignores this thread completely......

.......though, if you look closely,  in the corner of her eye, a single tear is shed.*

Thank you.

<3

Sadly, Desir and Eris never truly had that much interaction. At the same time, I watched from an OOC perspective as you came into your own playing a cleric on EfU (hardest class, in my opinion). Desir was an amazing character, she felt truly alive, was wonderfully portrayed. Even the briefest bits of interaction I had with her left me with the feeling of having brushed past a creation with emotions, motives, memories - a soul.

Well done, can't wait for the next.

<3

I wish we could have played more together, tbh.

I'm just going to pretend you're still around.

lol

You are just the best.